(Someone spotted a large number of these insects in their yard on Oct 30, 2013 in Toledo. This is my comment at ToledoTalk.com.)

Count the spots on the shell, but when you encounter that many, it's probably the Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle, which is obviously a non-native insect.

The Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle was a lot more numerous around our home about 10 years ago. I saw one yesterday in our garden, but I see them infrequently in our yard. I believe this insect moved up from the southern states, and I think their numbers vary with the harshness of the winter. A couple cold winters may knock back their numbers. And the rascals do bite. It's an annoying little pinprick feeling.

(My comments that were posted in an Oct 30, 2013 Toledo Talk thread )

From an Oct 30, 2013 Toledo Blade story

Some area communities changed the times for trick-or-treating after getting spooked by weather forecasts.

Elmore, Port Clinton, Allen Township, Woodville, Gibsonburg, Genoa, Grand Rapids, Fostoria, and Wauseon postponed the festivities for the weekend because forecasts call for rain showers.

Other northwest Ohio and southeastern Michigan communities had not reported any changes to their trick-or-treat events, mostly scheduled for Thursday night.

Toledoans are a little tougher than Allen Township wherever that is. We have two gang maps. The threat of rain won't stop trick-or-treating in T-town.

Update: March 2014:

• this was created in Nov-Dec 2013 and updated some in early 2014.
• it's called Kinglet, running at Soupmode.com.
• it's API-driven, using REST and JSON.
• currently, the API piece is written in Perl.
• currently, the 'client' piece is also written in Perl, and it executes on the same server but in its own directory.
• currently, the client side uses JavaScript from Mean Menu and Minified.js. No Angular.js nor Bootstrap.js.
• #todo - plan to create server-side client codebase in Node.JS.
• #todo - may attempt to create a single page application (SPA) version of the client where the entire app for the user executes in the browser and uses Angular.js or Backbone. js or something else.
• #todo - maybe in 2014, I'll attempt to create a client app in Objective C for iOS.

update 13Nov2013 maybe make it operate only as a simple, private web-based messaging tool.

Objective: learn NodeJS and either AngularJS, Bootstrap, or jQuery.

App: microblog.

Features initially:

(My February 2013 Toledo Talk comment about partaking in a special Registry Bistro wine dinner event.)

On most days, I simply consume food. But when I get to experience spectacular food, like at tonight's wine dinner at Registry Bistro, that's when life is pretty nifty.

Thanks, ahmahler for posting this event here. Our small group had a wonderful time.

The food, wine, service, information, people, conversation, and laughter were three-plus hours of enjoyment. Better than the Super Bowl.

(This info is from my ToledoTalk.com comment about our December 2012 visit to Element 112.)

Element 112, located in Sylvania, also provides a spectacular dining experience. When you call with reservations, indicate why you plan to visit, and they will customize your menu with your name, so you can take it home. It's a simple card-style menu, but it's a nice touch.

Besides providing a stunning meal, Element 112 completes numerous nice touches amazingly well, which add up to a memorable time.

Chilly, overcast morning with temps in the 30s and strong winds blowing.

I walked Barney around the neighborhood. He has no problem with the cool weather, which works better for him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_(cooking)

Smoked Salmon Using the "Little Chief" Smoker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k30bFVQztA

http://www.amazon.com/Smokehouse-Products-Little-Chief-Smoker/dp/B000ZKZJMY

Electric vs all-wood/fire?

Info from listening to the Really Big Show on AM 850 WKNR ESPN Cleveland radio.

"If you are lookin', then you ain't cookin'." - #quote

Smokers/Grills

• Memphis Wood Fire Grills - "Fueled by 100% natural wood pellets" - used by Rizzo -(they're electric)
  • Memphis Select Grill
• The Good-One
  • The 'Open Range' - for home use
  • brochure [pdf file]

Oct 23, 2013 - WNWO - Reports that Toledo is #3 for burglaries is inaccurate

That number three ranking was reportedly taken from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting website.

WNWO found that, in 2012, Toledo was actually number eight, with 2,352 burglaries for every 100,000 residents.

Oh well, that changes everything. Number 8 versus Number 3. It's still Top 10 in the United States for cities with at least 100,000 people. It's a horrible stat.

Hand printing and sketching with a pencil or ballpoint pen in a notebook is still acceptable behavior for me, at least for a few more years. This Web app will play a role in reducing and possibly eliminating my use of pocket paper notebooks and a ballpoint pen.

Smartphones, hand writing apps, watercolor painting apps, and JotHut.com will all conspire against paper notebooks for me. The transition, however, will take a few years, I think.¹

Now printing as a function of using a machine to produce a paper copy of digital text is a different matter.

Here are three species that make night-time sounds, which could confound people: Coyote, Bobcat, and Barn Owl.

Each Web link listed below contains an audio recording of the species.

Oct 20, 2013 - NY Times - Tech Wealth and Ideas Are Heading Into News

Absurd statement from the story:

Silicon Valley and its various power brokers — some who had roles in putting the news business in harm’s way to begin with — are suddenly investing significant sums of money in preserving news capacity and quality.

For newspapers, it's always somebody else's fault for the demise of the industry over the past 20 years. The newspaper industry blames innovation for its problems.

Rather than "saving" existing news properties, it's probably better to build new ones from scratch.

Like many people, I first learned about Twitter from news released during the March 2007 SXSW conference. Twitter launched in 2006, but I don't think I heard about it then. I don't remember. I could have read something about it in 2006 and glossed over the story.

From what I can tell, I posted my first links about Twitter in an article created at ToledoTalk.com on March 11, 2007.

Excerpts from October 2013 Medium.com post titled My Web Design Workflow on Chrome OS - How to Build the Internet from the Internet

The debate will continue for years. Both have their roles. I prefer the Web on all devices. So for me, my favorite all-time native app is the Web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Links).

Native apps vs Web apps depends upon the the website, the company, internal programming talent, user-base, maintenance costs, etc. It's silly to promote only one type over the other for all situations, but I think the Web is the better choice if limited to one method.